Toyota Most Likely to Shut its Camry Manufacturing Plant in Australia

Toyota recently launched its eighth-generation Camry at the Detroit motor show signalling the conclusion of Toyota plants in Australia. Industry insiders believe that Toyota’s long-term involvement in the Australian motor industry will soon be coming to an end. However, it is still unclear when exactly will the car maker shutter its last remaining plants in the country.

Various other car manufacturers have completely closed their plants in the country. For instances, Holden plans to replace the famous commodore with a European-designed vehicle. Unlike Holden and Ford, who failed to sustain plants in Australia due to lack of export markets, Toyota faced a different problem as the Camry was sold globally and has its plants across the globe that are running on much lower labor costs. The company now plans to build its next-gen Camry in Japan.

Some experts suggest the latest model of Camry is slicker that the previous models. The vehicle promises to offer a family-sized motoring at a value price. The car priced at around $30,000 and will be available in three different engine types – V6 petrol, four cylinder and petrol-electric hybrid — while the Aurion badge will only be seen in the V6 version of the Camry.

The safety systems include automatic emergency braking with pedestrian recognition and the manufacturer is expecting five-star ANCAP safety score. Toyota Australia is expecting the sales to be moderate, partly because of loss of government and fleet sales owing to the dissolution of buy-Australian policies and also due to consumer demand for mid-sized cars. However, the company believes that the model in still viable and valuable for the company.

Realizing the opportunity to revive the mid-sized segment. The company aims to make this new model an unexpected and attractive piece of art. The detailed information on pricing and showroom arrival dates are yet to be revealed by the company, but the launch of the new model is expected to be planned accordingly in order to ensure a smooth transition from the Altona-built model.